Political and Economic Populist Movements Catch Fire Across Europe

Anti-establishment sentiment is causing political and economic populist movements to catch fire across Europe. It is building because the electorate is experiencing a sense of inequality. In addition to this, some politicians have decided to add fuel to the populism fire by vilifying immigration for their own political purposes. Europe’s populist attitudes are expanding on both the left and the right.

Political and Economic Populist Movements Catch Fire Across Europe

As seen by the recent vote for the Brexit, the right-wing Independence Party in the UK has been enjoying more support over the last 10 years. When the country held its 2001 general elections, the party counted just 390,000 votes while in 2015, the party won 3.9 million votes.

When officials counted the public opinion polls in France, the numbers showed that the conservative National Front had about 30 percent of the vote. This percent easily overtook President Hollande’s Socialist Party. In 2007, the National Front received 3.8 million votes. Five years later, the party counted 6.4 million.

Even in Germany, the populist movement on the right is gaining strength. According to polls, the Alternative for Germany, a conservative populist party, is in third place. It’s just behind the Social Democratic Party and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

Feeling Lost Amid Globalization

As America faces its Trump problem, Europe’s political systems are under attack. The rise of terrorism and immigration are causing fear while new technology is making it easier for people to engage in populism. To regain their feelings of security, the populist parties that lean to the right support an anti-immigrant platform. Antonio Barroso, a political analyst for Teneo Intelligence, described those who belong to these upstart populist parties. He said, “They are the losers of globalization. They are white, poorly educated and afraid of the loss of national identity.”

Populists are also coming in from the left, but in these groups, members tend to support immigration. Their dissent from the traditional parties derives from cynicism toward the political class combined with the recent economic crisis. Fortune confirms that these descriptions of the populist parties are broad generalizations. There is definitely more driving them than immigration. To this end, the news source issued a reminder that every country’s identity is unique as is its past. The difference between the two sides is due to each region’s experience with the European Union or EU.

Restoring Borders and Imposing Migration Controls

The Guardian reports that to stop political forces from misusing anti-refugee biases, Europe needs to restore borders and establish migration controls. East European workers are relocating by ever-increasing numbers. This is driving anti-EU sentiment in the United Kingdom. According to Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor, the refugee crisis “poured fuel on the fire.” This surely played a part in the vote for the Brexit.

As the Eurozone began staggering from crisis to crisis, British citizens started to believe that they would be better off if the country left the EU. Many powerful voices warned them that leaving the EU would harm the nation’s economy and weaken the country’s voice on major global issues. Too many voters didn’t listen, and now, Britain is facing an uncertain future.

Are Europe’s Economies at Risk from Populism?

BBC News issued a recent warning about Europe’s economic stability. According to the publication, the European Central Bank’s most recent financial stability report includes a distressing political message. It said, “Political risks have increased across the euro area and pose a challenge to fiscal and structural reform implementation and, by extension, to public debt sustainability.”

Populist growth across Europe is making the implementation of conventional economic reform less likely. In the past, these reforms have led to greater economic stability. The bank’s financial report is causing vulnerable sovereigns to experience added pressure. It is also contributing to re-fragmentation in the euro region.

With political and populist movements growing, European legislators are aware of the main threat that these movements bring to the table, which is a general rejection of the old political and economic compromises. While populist groups are gaining ground, one area is tripping up conservative groups. This area is their platforms. Many of them are coming out against mass immigration, but other than that, the groups aren’t really saying what they stand for. Instead, the conservative parties appear to be more opportunist than populist.

Frustration is Growing Across Europe

The upstart populist parties are a direct reflection of each nation’s growing impatience with the EU. Both left and right parties are challenging the status quo. In addition, those who belong to these European parties are essentially the doppelgangers of the people who support Trump and Sanders, so it appears that the populist contagion is spreading across the globe. To learn more about the recent trend toward populist parties, visit the PersonalMoneyStore.com.

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